Brief History
Alexandria ( al-Iskanderiyya) is Egypt's second largest city (after the capital Cairo) and the country's window on the Mediterranean Sea. It is home to at least 3.5 million Egyptians.

Alexandria was the eponymous foundation (in 334 BCE) of the Macedonian conquerer Alexander the Great (Iskander al-Akbar), a rival of Rome in its heyday, and the world's greatest centre of learning for millennia. The French-style parks and the occasional French street sign survive as a legacy of Napoleon, one of Alexandria's many conquerors. Alexandria's primary promenade is the seaside Corniche.

How to get there

Visa requirements
Visa requirements vary from country to country. Please contact the Egyptian Embassy in your country to find out what these are. If you require a letter of invitation, please e-mail Yasser Aref ( yasser.aref@bibalex.org ) with your name, affiliation and fax number.

By Plane
The small Alexandria Airport (ALY) is served by occasional domestic flights, and direct international flights by several airline companies:
Olympic Airways (www.olympic-airways.com),
British Airways (www.ba.com),
Lufthansa (www.lufthansa.com),
Egyptair (www.egyptair.com.eg),
Emirates (www.emirates.com),
Austrian Airways (www.aua.com)


Most tourists arrive via Cairo.

Please retain boarding passes even if not funded by Mediterranean Voices. If funded by Mediterranean Voices, please retain all receipts of expenses incurred by transportation.

Please note that you must book your own flights. You may then ask your travel agent to invoice us.

From Cairo to Alexandria
Frequent trains from Cairo's railway station on Midan Ramses are probably the best way to get to Alexandria. Trains run at least once every hour from 6 AM to 10 PM, but try to choose either an express or the French-built Turbo, which takes only 2 hours 10 minutes for the journey. 1st/2nd class tickets LE 34/30 (€5/€4.50) one-way. Some trains (mostly slow ordinary ones) also continue on to Port Said.

Trains may require advanced booking. In such circumstances, you are advised to take a taxi from the airport. A taxi (for 4 passengers ) should cost you 200-250 Egyptian pounds (approx. €28-35). A limo (for 5 to 8 passengers) should cost around 400 LE (about €60). Prepare to haggle!

The trip from Cairo to Alexandria takes around 3 hours, so please bear that in mind when making travel arrangements and informing us of your room bookings.

Getting Around

There are very cheap taxis you can take from the airport to your hotel. For more interesting modes of transportation, Alexandria has a creaky, slow but very cheap tram system that dates back to 1860. There are nine lines, mostly running parallel to the coast. Note that the first car (out of three) in each interurban (blue) tram is reserved for women only.

Accomodation and Transportation to the Library

Hotel
All partners and guests of the conference will be staying at the Hilton Hotel (see map below). Rooms at the Hilton Hotel are at €75 for a single room, and €81 for a double room.

Hilton contact details:
Hilton Alexandria Green Plaza
14th of May Bridge Rd
Smouha, Alexandria

tel: + 20 3 4209120
fax: + 20 3 4209140

e-mail: alexandria@hilton.com

Others may find a variety of hotels and a range of prices at this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g295398-Alexandria-Hotels.html



Shuttle service
There will be a shuttle service between the Hilton hotel and the library three times a day. The trip between the two venues lasts 15-20 minutes.

Shuttle services will be picking conference participants up from the hotel at 8 pm for the Conference reception and website launch on Thursday Nov. 10. Buses will return from the library at 10 pm.

Buses will be picking participants up at 8 am on Friday Nov. 11 for those who will be arriving in the early hours of the 11th.

Additional shuttle service timetable (subject to changes):

FIRST DAY (Friday)
From hotel to library: 8 am
From library to hotel: 8:30 pm

SECOND DAY (Saturday)
From hotel to library: 8:30 am
From library to hotel: 10:30 pm

THIRD DAY (Sunday)
From hotel to library: 8:30 am
From library to hotel: 8:30 pm

There will also be shuttle services in the evenings from the hotel to the city centre and back. Further details will be provided upon arrival.


Map

(click on map to enlarge)

For more information, please contact Alia Al Zougbi at azougbi@gmail.com